Academic Integrity at Bow Valley College

Principles of Academic Integrity

According to The Center for Academic Integrity, academic integrity is "commitment, even in the face of adversity, to six fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage. From these values flow principles of behavior that enable academic communities to translate ideals into action"(International Center for Academic Integrity,, n.d., "Join ICAI in advancing academic integrity").

International Center for Academic Integrity (n.d.). Fundamental values. https://academicintegrity.org/about/values

Related Online Guides from the RGO Library:

Use this guide to learn:

  • The ethics of information use: Learn about academic integrity (doing your own work honestly), plagiarism (using the words, ideas, or creation of another author without giving credit), and copyright (intellectual property and the value of information)
  • College policy: Understand what your school, Bow Valley College, says about doing your work honestly. Learn about what happens if you don't follow the rules.
  • How to avoid plagiarism: Get tips on how to avoid plagiarism.
  • How to give credit: Find out why it's important to say where you got your information. 

To find out more about academic integrity: 

At Bow Valley College, we value academic integrity. This means everyone at the college, including students, faculty, and staff, must act ethically and truthfully in their work and studies. If someone breaks these rules, there will be serious consequences. The college carefully investigates and fairly handles any issues related to academic integrity.

The college follows the International Centre for Academic Integrity’s definition of academic integrity. This means being honest, trustworthy, fair, respectful, and responsible, even when it is difficult to do so. It is important to act with academic integrity in everything you do at the college. Academic integrity is related to integrity in the workplace. The values you practice at the college are the same values that will inform and guide your career.

 

Academic misconduct

Academic misconduct is acting in such a way as to give yourself or others an unfair academic advantage or disadvantage.

Academic misconduct has serious consequences that may include:

  • A failing grade for an assignment, exam, or course.
  • Disciplinary probation with documentation of the offence.
  • Suspension or expulsion from your program or the college.

Some examples of academic misconduct to avoid include:

Cheating:

  • Talking to other students during a test.
  • Using unauthorized materials or devices during an exam.
  • Getting help from others or materials outside the exam setting without permission.
  • Trying to see or show other students' exam answers.
  • Leaving your answer papers where other students can see them or trying to look at other students' exam papers.

Collusion: Working together with other students on an assignment that should be done alone.

Contract Cheating: Having someone else do all or part of your work, possibly for a fee. This could be a professional service or someone you know.

Copyright Infringement: Making copies or using someone’s work without permission is against the law. This includes work created by BVC.

Failure to Follow Instructions: Ignoring specific instructions for an assignment in order to cheat, like turning off your webcam or not showing your ID.

Fraud: Pretending to be someone else for an exam or interview, or submitting fake documents like transcripts or certificates.

Misuse or Misrepresentation of Sources: Using sources in a misleading way, giving incorrect credit, or changing research results to mislead others.

Plagiarism: Copying someone else's ideas or work without giving proper credit. This includes:

  • Submitting work done by someone else.
  • Using parts of a book, article, or website without mentioning the original author.
  • Copying an entire essay from another source.
  • Using tools or software, including generative AI tools like ChatGPT, to create content automatically.

Self-Plagiarism: Using your own previous work for credit in a new course without permission, or resubmitting work that has already been graded.

The above text is adapted from the college's Academic Integrity policy. ChatGPT was used during this adaptation.

Watch this video with examples of plagiarism from the University of Alberta:

Plagiarism: Using someone else's ideas, words, or other work without giving proper credit. This includes:

  • Submitting work done by someone else as your own.
  • Using parts of a book, article, or website without giving credit to the original author.
  • Including an image in an assignment and not crediting the image's creator.
  • Copying an entire essay from another source.
  • Using tools or software, including generative AI tools like ChatGPT, to create content automatically.

The main rule to avoid plagiarism is: always give credit to the author of a source you use in an assignment.

    

 

Academic research is fundamentally a conversation made up of many researchers' voices on a particular research topic. When you cite sources, you are joining that conversation and adding your own voice to it.

Citing sources means that you are giving credit to the authors of those sources.

  • Giving credit is a way to avoid plagiarism.
  • Giving credit also shows your reader that you have found sources of evidence and used them to support your statements.

At Bow Valley College, use APA Style to cite and reference your sources.

This video explains some of the reasons why it is important to cite sources when writing an academic research paper.

This guide was adapted from a version by Leah Hildebrand who used ChatGPT 3.0 as part of the process. This guide is licensed under CC BY 4.0.